Linda Tripp
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Linda Tripp (born November 24, 1949) is an American woman who was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal of 1998 and 1999 that led to the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Despite their age difference of 24 years, Tripp became Monica Lewinsky's close confidant at the government office in Washington, D.C. where they both worked. After Lewinsky revealed to Tripp that she had had a physical relationship with President Clinton, Tripp began to record her phone conversations with Lewinsky while encouraging Lewinsky to document details of the relationship.
Tripp then gave these tapes to then-Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who launched an investigation into the Clinton-Lewinsky relationship, looking for potential incidents of perjury based on Clinton's testimony in the lawsuit Paula Jones had brought against Clinton.
While Tripp maintains she acted out of "patriotic duty," many Americans believe her to have betrayed Lewinsky in the hopes of using her knowledge of the relationship to obtain a possible book or movie deal.
Tripp was portrayed by John Goodman in recurring Saturday Night Live sketches.Template:US-bio-stub